EQUIPMENT
The Mind Research Network (MRN) is a consortium of internationally recognized neuroimaging and
neurogenetic researchers based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its new 50,000 square-foot headquarters is
located on the campus of the University of New Mexico (UNM) and houses world-class equipment. Below is a
comprehensive description of equipment available to MRN researchers, some or none of which may be used in
this particular project.
Siemens Avanto 1.5 Tesla Mobile MRI Scanner (see figure): The
Avanto is the most advanced system of this strength in the
Siemens product line and features an ultra-short 150cm long,
whole body superconductive 1.5T magnet, with 5th generation
active shielding (AS) technology with counter coils, External
Interference Shielding and excellent homogeneity (based on 24
plan plot, 50 cm DSV type, 0.8 ppm. The system comes equipped
with a 12-element Matrix head coil capable of ultra-fast parallel
acquisition in either 4-channel, 8-channel or 12-channel settings.
This system is interfaced to an MR-compatible patient monitoring
unit featuring pulsed oximetry, heart rate monitor, O2, CO2, NO,
and halothane measurement, blood pressure monitor, and EKG (OmniTrak, InVivo Research, Inc. Orlando,
FL). This system will allow for unparalleled access to previously difficult to reach populations, including forensic
and severely mentally-disordered populations. The Avanto scanner is installed in a trailer that can be
transported to suitably equipped sites.
Siemens 3T Trio with Total Imaging Matrix (TIM) Application Suite The Trio 32-channel system represents
state of the art in MRI hardware. It is capable of BOLD EPI, diffusion tensor imaging, perfusion and diffusion
imaging, and spectroscopy. With 32 usable receiver channels as standard, the system allows for the use of
current phased array coils (from 4 to 16) to improve sensitivity and speed of acquisition and is ready for future
coil designs with more than 16 elements. This system is interfaced to an MR-compatible patient monitoring unit
featuring pulsed oximetry, heart rate monitor, O2, CO2, NO, and halothane measurement, blood pressure
monitor and EKG (OmniTrak, InVivo Research, Inc. Orlando, FL).
Elekta Neuromag 306-channel whole-cortex MEG system with 306 independent squids for magnetic recording
in addition to 64 EEG channels.
Electrophysiology Equipment Two complete electrophysiology systems for recording EEG during the
performance of cognitive tasks. These systems are comprised of stimuli presentation computers, electrode
caps, amplifiers, digital/analog boards and PCs for data recording. Four head sizes of electrode caps are
maintained for each of the two systems. In addition, each system has an SA bioelectric amplifier system
capable of amplifying electrical activity from 64 separate channels for recording. Amplifiers are connected to a
16-bit A/D conversion using a custom program implemented on a Pentium II microcomputer running Solaris for
Intel. This computer records EEG data and all stimulus and behavioral response codes for later analysis. A
custom suite of software for precise presentation of multimodal stimuli, online monitoring of behavioral data,
and high resolution EEG acquisition using custom programmed Digitize software is installed. All analyses are
completed using the event-related potential software system ERPSS (courtesy of Steve Hillyard, UCSD). As
with the MR scanners, eye-tracking/pupilometry equipment is available during EEG recording.
Illumina iScan™ system for genetic, epigenetic and gene expression analyses.
This scalable platform facilitates analyses from whole-genome to focused targets and can accommodate
standard and custom panels for RNA and DNA analysis. Whole genome genotyping/CNV/LOH analyses are
conducted through use of the Infinium assay and an assortment of bead chip types that include 700K up to 5
five million markers covering up to 99% of the variation in the human genome. GoldenGate and iSelect assays
can be customized to probe from 96-1M SNPs. The iScan system also allows for epigentic (methylation)
analyses for 27K and 450K CpG sites across the human genome. Illumina’s Genome Studio software allows
for direct comparson of mRNA gene expression results with methylation results allowing for easily visualization
of gene regulation and expression. The range of detection offered by the Illumina model allows for reduced
input and reagent requirements, while preserving data quality and reproducibility.
Applied Biosystems 7500 real time thermocycler can be used for genotyping single SNPs and gene
expression assays.
Standard equipment for DNA extraction, quantification, and storage.